"Hi," Leilah muttered back with a small nervous smile, a tinge of discomfort in her words that had little to do with the Dragon's fear aura. She fell silent, though, when the Headmaster took to the stage. She tried to patiently listen as teachers continued to talk, but it was hard to focus with the feel of so many other people around her. Her mother's own fears burrowed in to her brain as surely as the same blood ran through her veins. She wanted to stop it. That was why she was here, and she had to remember that.

When the talking ended, she looked over at the boy, Syrax she had heard him say, and the other girl, briefly meeting the eyes of the latter and blinking away. She listened as the other girl introduced herself as Zandrea. Zandrea's words sounded hard, though they seemed to mean well. Her eyes flickered between the two again. Should she say something? Leilah's heart raced at the thought and she scolded herself. Not everyone could be bad. It wasn't possible. The logic didn't stop her from standing, ready to move, before she uttered another syllable. Her voice- tinged with a Middle Eastern accent- was quiet, only just loud enough to be heard and came out somewhat cooler than was often considered normal and more so than Leilah had intended, "I'm Leilah Nassar. Thank you for allowing me to sit near you both."